Two Likely Destinations Named For former Canucks GM Patrik Allvin
The Vancouver Canucks' search for a new general manager is all over the place, with plenty of names popping up. The spot is up for grabs after the team cut ties with Patrik Allvin after a century-worst season in Vancouver. They finished dead last in the NHL with 58 points.
But Allvin might not be out of work for long, according to the latest rumors.
Insider Elliotte Friedman suggested on his 32 Thoughts podcast on Friday that there are two potential likely destinations for Allvin to land on his feet, though neither of them would be in a full general manager's role:
Patrik Allvin, the former Canucks GM, I wonder if he ends up (in Seattle). He has a history with Jason Botterill.
Botterill is the GM of the Seattle Kraken. He and Allvin worked together in the Pittsburgh Penguins' front office for ten years from 2007 to 2017. In fact, when Allvin was brought in to be the Canucks' GM in early 2022, Botterill had this to say about him:
“Patrik has strong, strong beliefs,” said Botterill. “He’s a person that’s not going to back down from those beliefs. What I love about him is he enters a situation, and if he doesn’t have the knowledge, he doesn’t pretend to be a know-it-all.
“The biggest thing over time is how he’s continued to evolve in evaluating players,” said Botterill. “He’s done a great job in self-reflection, not just for himself but also for the staff. He’s just continued to evolve."
And with Ron Francis stepping down as president of hockey operations, there's an office open in Seattle's hockey ops department. Could the Canucks watch as their division rival snags their former GM?
Allvin has ties to Minnesota Wild GM Bill Guerin
The Minnesota Wild are another potential landing spot for Allvin that's been speculated on, per Friedman. Bill Guerin also worked with the former Canucks GM in the Pittsburgh front office. They were both key contributors to the Penguins' back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 2016 and 2017.
In fact, a report from Frank Seravalli in 2022 states that shortly after becoming the Minnesota Wild GM in 2019, Guerin tried to hire Allvin away from Pittsburgh to be one of his top assistants, but then-Pittsburgh GM Jim Rutherford denied permission.
Guerin also spoke highly of Allvin at that time.
“We just hit it off,” said Guerin. “He’s just a great guy, we became good friends right away. He’s a fun guy to be around and taught me a lot about the scouting world in Europe.
“There’s a couple things about him,” the Wild GM continued. “One, it’s his work ethic. He’s extremely detailed in everything he does. Two, he’s great with people. He treats people extremely well, he treats people with respect and people love him.”
Sounds like Allvin has a couple of big fans in high places out West, and he should be landing on his feet, likely with either Seattle or Minnesota, in the days ahead.
